The Other Woman
by Claudia Reese
Summary: Faithfulness. For him, it was just another reason people use to control other people's actions.


Hey guys, it's Claudia again! I know, I know. This is like my 10th story in one month so if you guys are wondering how come I have already many stories published (actually many more stories to publish for the next months), it's only because it's my summer vacation! :D I don't have any school work slowing me down and what I usually do during the day is to eat, sleep, read, probably get lucky and have a date with my boyfriend (since he has summer classes) and write. If I do slow down, it's most likely because I'm on a trip or something :D So there!

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**The Other Woman**

_Faithfulness. For him, it was just another reason people use to control other people's actions._

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The blanket of darkness loomed over the city of Tokyo followed by the continuous opening of all different lights from the streets, houses, and buildings. The light from the moon and stars began to appear as well, signalling the end of the day because for many, night time is when people try to stop doing anything stressful like working and school, and try to find release through various aspects: including sins. Proof can be seen just around the corners, for it is during the night when most purses are stolen, most gangs attack others, and most love affairs are being started…or continued.

"Hey, I'm going home late tonight. Don't wait for me, I have to do a lot of work at the office." A dark-haired man said while talking over the phone with his wife. But both of them knew he was lying, and both of them knew where he was going.

"Okay." Was the woman's reply from the other line and it signalled the end of their conversation.

The blue-eyed man looked down at his watch and it read 7:34PM. He was late, but he didn't care.

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Heaving breathings enveloped the room as the dark-haired man lost his energy and fell down on the bed beside a raven-haired woman. Both of them were panting with sweat and the air conditioning wasn't a big help at the moment.

"You're late." The amethyst-eyed lady breathed, her chest heaving up and down bare enough for her partner to see but she didn't mind.

"I know." The man replied with the same exhausted voice and he too was bare naked, with only the air covering both of their bodies.

"Eriol…" The woman called when the man beside him made a move to get up and grab his pants. "Are you leaving already?" She asked sitting up. The man named Eriol didn't respond until his legs were already covered with his grabbed garment and walked towards the balcony.

"No," Eriol took out his box of cigarettes and smoked one of them, leaning against the railings of the balcony. He suddenly felt a weight pressed against his back and he knew it was the woman again but this time he felt a soft fabric between them—she was wearing her robe, that's for sure. The woman wrapped her arms around his torso and sighed.

"Thank you," the woman murmured.

Eriol didn't respond. Instead, he just puffed out what he breathed from his cigarette and stared at the city lights from down below. They stayed in the same position for a few moments until he finished smoking and simply threw the cigarette butt down from the balcony.

"Tomoyo," Eriol called, trying to move his body to turn and face the woman but she just stayed in the same position making it hard for him to adjust. He sighed, grabbing hold of the arms around him and made enough space for him to look at her. "Tomoyo…" He said her name again. The woman looked up at him with her sparkling amethyst eyes with awe but at the same time sadness and loneliness.

"She knows, doesn't she?" Tomoyo inquired, finally releasing her arms around him.

Again, he didn't respond but she already knew the answer to her own question. She sighed and walked towards one of the outdoor chairs in the balcony and sat on it, brushing her hair through her fingers. "Why doesn't she stop you then?" She asked, looking upwards to the night sky.

Eriol sat on the chair across her with a small table between them. "Because she's already satisfied that I still go home to her in the end." He said. Tomoyo became silent and continued to stare at the stars.

"Do you love her?" She whispered, still not looking at him. She wasn't really expecting him to answer but he still did.

"No." was his reply.

"Then why did you marry her?"

"It was my mother's dying wish: that I marry the girl she chose so that I have someone to take care of me." He said simply, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"But she loves you."

"Like the way you do."

Tomoyo became silent again. She knew he was right even if she never confessed to him, but she knew he was right. She might even love him more than his wife does but her feelings were never really valued by the man, except for her body and the pleasures she gives him.

"You don't love me either." She stated.

This time, Eriol became silent and looked at the stars as well. "But I still come to you," He managed to say.

"Don't you feel guilty for betraying your own wife?" She gave another question. The wind blew past them and even though it felt shivery outside, both of them didn't move and remained in their seats.

"No, fidelity isn't really something I value,"

"Your matrimony is something else too." She commented. She knew she was right, it was already obvious for her. "Why?"

"Because I don't believe in it," He concluded. "Commitment, matrimony, fidelity—all of these things are connected. They make life seem less worth living, for me at least." He added.

"But your committed to coming to my condo every other day," Tomoyo said.

"It's easy to commit to time rather than to a person." This made the raven-haired beauty look at him questioningly. What did he mean exactly? "I mean, you may not be the only woman I go to aside from my wife. In other days, I could be going to another woman's hotel room." He added and this made Tomoyo shut up.

"But…" He said and she looked at him again. "I don't have that kind of stamina or even effort to go to other women's place every day."

"Oh…" was all Tomoyo could say.

"Being married to someone: I don't like the idea of it all, much like how I don't like the idea of being fully committed to someone. It's just another way of showing people that you control another person's actions just because you're married or committed to him. What kind of person would like to be treated that way?" He asked with a hint of disgust in his voice.

"People in love, I suppose," She whispered.

"Ha! Love!" Eriol cried out.

"You don't believe in it?" Tomoyo asked.

"I believe in passion, not love."

"Aren't they the same thing?"

"No," He firmly dictated. "People are just crazy about being in love, they would do anything to have that sort of thing until they end up making a mistake by marrying someone and realize that that is not love at all but just temporary passion. Love is just an illusion—it becomes finite when people already realize their mistakes." Eriol explained.

"And passion is not the same? Isn't it an illusion as well in your perspective?" Eriol shook his head at this inquiry.

"Passion requires focus. When you are passionate, you are focused and at the same time rational unlike love. You have a certain goal you want to achieve which is the reason why people work so hard to get it. And what more would help them aside their own passion for doing it? But apparently, people blame the idea of love when they want to do something wrong. It's not true that a person is blinded when they are in love, they just stop thinking that's all. They are not focused and reasonable if you are in love. Now tell me Tomoyo," Eriol looked at the person beside him. "Why do you think you still let me see you even if you already know I'm married to somebody else?"

Tomoyo became quiet. Her head screamed _because I love you_ but she knows what he's going to say when she blurts that thought out.

"It's because you think you love me," Eriol answered for her. "That proves my point. When you are in love, you lose your rationality and focus. You let yourself do wrong things because you think you're in love with me." He said.

"But aren't you doing the wrong thing by being unfaithful to your wife?" She asked.

"I _am_ doing the wrong thing, but I'm not doing it because of love." And that really hit her, hard. His statement just proved to her that he doesn't love her at all and it hurt really hard. "I'm doing it because I don't want someone to stop me from what doing what I want."

"You sound like a teenage rebel to me." Tomoyo snickered.

Eriol smirked. "Maybe I am one."

"Then I'm the mistress of a teenage rebel," She declared and this made her companion let out a small chuckle. She let out a small smile herself after hearing his laugh. "But it's never easy, you know." Tomoyo said in a serious tone.

"I know," He said.

"And I know I'll always be _that_ kind of woman." And he didn't respond.

A continuous ring was suddenly heard from the bedroom—it was Eriol's cellular phone. Tomoyo hated that sound. Whenever she hears it, it already means it's time.

"I have to go." He stood up from his seat and went inside to get fully changed. Tomoyo didn't bother to move and just continued to sit on the balcony. She could hear his movements while changing but she's not really in the mood to show him out of her room.

"You know," She called and she knew he got his attention. "You might not or never realize it, but you _are _ in love with Kaho." A few seconds and she heard the bedroom door close, and she knew she was right. Why else would he still go back to her every night?

And the stars continued to blink as the moon continued to shower its light across the city, with the wind blowing off the long strands of hair from the dark-haired beauty and the tears that came out from her eyes.

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**End**

So what do you guys think? :D Don't get me wrong, I believe in love! And I love love! :) This plot just came to me last night when I couldn't sleep. Hope to see your reviews! ^^

Love,  
Claudia


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